Pent-up demand for townhomes building in the GTA

Condos may be the choice for many in the increasingly expensive GTA, but not everyone wants to live in a box in the sky. More and more new home buyers are looking for affordable lowrise options such as townhomes. Emphasis on the word affordable.

The problem? The supply just isn’t there – and the pent-up demand is growing.

Appealing especially to young families, townhomes provide more space and flexibility than condos, and generally are far more affordable than single-family homes.

Altus recently studied the sector for one of its regular housing reports, surmising that townhomes play an increasingly important role in in the new home sector, not just in the GTA but across Canada.

In the GTA, new townhouse sales have plummeted in the past two years – both in absolute terms and as a percentage of total new home sales (to just seven per cent of the total in the first half of 2018), Altus says.

Affordability and availability remain an issue.

In the GTA, the key challenge to supplying this built form has been finding land with the right entitlements to allow and support this construction, Altus reports. Much of the land along Toronto streets support higher density condo product or is priced at a level which encourages rezoning to support this density.

“What can support more townhouse development is allowing rezoning of the land between the existing single-family communities and the corridors for more mid-density development,” Boukall says.

Although townhouse land (medium density) sales in 2017 were actually up over 2016, they are trending lower in 2018. Part of the problem is a lengthy approval process. “Year to date in Toronto, we have only tracked five approved townhouse projects, representing less than 350 units,” says Boukall. “Obviously, we need more product to meet the market demand. The positive note is that developers are proposing more product, with almost 1,500 new units applied for in 2018.”

STACKED TOWNHOMES

Stacked townhouses, in which one row of townhouse units is stacked on top of another, provide a more affordable option to single-family homes, given higher densities. They also offer many of the appealing aspects of condominiums, but without living in a highrise environment.

However, they still play a relatively smaller role than traditional townhouses in the overall townhouse arena, Altus says.

In the Vancouver market, for example, new stacked townhouse units accounted for slightly more than 200 sales on average per year in 2015-17 – about six per cent of all new townhouse sales.

In the GTA, where stacked townhouses have made a larger dent, they remain a niche segment, accounting for about one in five new townhouse sales in recent years.

Part of the challenge with stacked townhouses versus rowhomes are those similar to condominium apartments – longer planning and construction timelines, and other residences adjacent on all sides

Both housing types will play an important role throughout the GTA in the future, but stacked townhouses are expected to become more popular given the better affordability provided by the higher density housing type.

“That said,” Boukall adds, “traditional row townhouses are the more common housing type in the GTA and as such, account for more sales compared to the stacked townhouse product. Row townhouse product has been accounting for a growing share of the single-family new homes sales in the GTA, currently accounting for 42 per cent of the total single-family sales activity in the GTA.”

WHERE IN THE GTA?

So, prospective GTA new home buyers, which areas hold the most promise in terms of future townhome availability?

While townhouses are expected to remain a popular housing option throughout the GTA, both Toronto and the York region share the most medium density land activity in the region, and should see increased development activity as a result in 2019 and beyond.

“The Peel region, most notably Brampton, is the most active for stacked and row townhouse sales in 2018 and should continue to see demand supported by an available land supply and comparably affordable prices,” says Boukall.

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Municipal candidates aware of housing needs – TREB poll

With municipal elections only days away, the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) has released recommendations on what newly elected councillors, mayors, and regional chairs across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) can do to ensure housing affordability and choice for homebuyers and renters.

TREB also released the results of responses received from more than 200 municipal election candidates from across the GTA. Candidates were asked to respond to a TREB survey asking for their views on key housing issues that are the subject of TREB’s recommendations.

“A recent poll conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs showed that housing affordability was a top-of-mind issue for voters in this election,” says TREB President Garry Bhaura. “Housing affordability is a priority for voters, and they want it to be a priority for the incoming municipal councils. Based on the candidate survey responses that TREB received, it appears that housing affordability is also a priority for many candidates.”

SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS:

95 per cent of responding candidates in Toronto, and 86 per cent of responding GTA candidates, indicated that, if elected, they would advocate for updating municipal zoning by-laws and policies to encourage more medium density housing.

85 per cent of responding Toronto candidates indicated that they would be willing to consider reforms to the Toronto Land Transfer Tax to adjust it for inflation; 84 per cent of responding GTA candidates indicated that they would, if elected, oppose proposals for any new municipal land transfer tax.

85 per cent of responding Toronto candidates, and 79 per cent of responding GTA candidates, indicated that they would support efforts to reduce planning approval times and red tape to facilitate new housing supply.

97 per cent of responding Toronto candidates, and 96 per cent of responding GTA candidates, indicated that they would, if elected, advocate for funding from senior levels of government for infrastructure investments.

MISSING MIDDLE

TREB has also released three new policy briefs on “missing middle” housing supply, housing-related municipal red tape, and infrastructure needs for housing supply, in addition to a brief issued earlier in the campaign on the impact of municipal land transfer taxes. TREB’s recommendations call for newly elected municipal councils to support the creation of much needed housing supply and options.

TREB is calling on councils to:

Review municipal zoning by-laws and consider changes to allow for more mid-density development such as townhomes.

Resist community opposition and work with neighbourhoods by improving communication strategies to articulate the ability of mid-density developments to be seamlessly integrated into existing neighbourhoods.

Prevent any new municipal land transfer taxes in the rest of the GTA.

Reform the Toronto Land Transfer Tax to adjust the first-time home buyer rebate, and the threshold price at which the higher tax rate kicks in, for inflation, so both keep pace with the current average home price in Toronto now sitting at around $800,000.

Conduct reviews of municipal planning approval processes for new housing applications with a goal of streamlining and shortening the process.

Recognize the importance of infrastructure as it relates to housing supply and affordability, and move ahead with critical projects and investments such as regional transit as a key part of strategies targeted to addressing housing needs.

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Great Gulf and Tridel were among the big winners at the recent 39th Annual BILD Awards, as the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) recognized the top builders and developers, projects and marketing initiatives in the industry.

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Cosentino is a global, family-owned company that produces and distributes high value innovative surfaces for the world of architecture and design, leaders in their respective segments such as Silestone® Quartz surfaces and Dekton® Ultracompact surfaces. Technologically advanced surfaces that create unique designs for the home and public spaces.

Euro-Line Appliances has brought elite European engineered appliances to Canadian homes for over 25 years. Our brands exceed expectations and have earned awards in design, engineering, performance, and energy efficiency. All of our cooking, refrigeration, dishwashers, and laundry appliances are created to conserve our non-renewable resources.

Fisher & Paykel incorporates the world’s most innovative technologies and produce the most technically advanced, efficient and contemporary styled appliances. DCS created the first line of high end, commercial quality appliances and expanded to pioneer indoor and outdoor kitchen solutions for the at home chef. TRADE ONLY.

Through our customer feedback, we have learned the importance of ‘service’. You said and we listened. We addressed your needs and improvised; bringing you services and quality no one in the industry offers.

We've been proudly serving the community for more than 160 years. We deliver natural gas safely and reliably to two million homes and businesses across Ontario. With safety as our ongoing priority, we're committed to making communities better places to live.

Sharing Passion & Performance. With our unique expertise and sensibilities, gained from our devotion to sound and music, we are committed to creating excitement and cultural inspiration together with people around the world.

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Fusion Stone is an easy and budget-friendly way to beautifully upgrade your home, inside and out. A patented Shouldice innovation, Fusion Stone is a thin stone veneer that is easily installed with the included stainless steel clips & screws. You just screw it to the wall and it’s “Hooked for Life”.

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